


A Choice Unwanted

by Merfilly



Series: Growing Up Jedi [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 18:51:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: Ahsoka is being stubborn over who should train Mara, but a talk with Yoda may change her perspective.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [And So It Goes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7760992) by [Merfilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly). 



While it was not unknown for the Jedi parents to choose to train their own children, it was subtly encouraged to place them with others to teach, to prevent fostering lineages that were also bound by blood ties. In some cases, that was less worrisome, but even with Mara Jade Tano being adopted, most of the Jedi near Ahsoka tried to persuade her to let the child take a different teacher. Ahsoka had dug her heels in, even as the eldest surviving member of her line kept his quiet on the matter. That silence prompted Ahsoka to go speak to Yoda, as differences had been mended long ago.

Finding the Grand Master these days was sometimes tricky, as he had more or less taken it upon himself to relearn the galaxy rather than stay at the Temple. An inquiry to Plo Koon, who was current Master of the Order, had her traveling to Ryloth. That cheered her up some; she had a number of friends that had settled there and were helping rebuild the planet. Mara wasn't pleased to be left behind, but Rex stepped in and offered to take her on a training mission with him, going to teach a Rim world how to better use their local resources against the pirates they kept facing.

Arseven got a landing coordinate for them and they set down outside a smaller village, before Ahsoka jogged into the central square. Sure enough, Master Yoda was there, teaching some younglings and keeping them entertained while his hosts worked. She waited on the outskirts, then laughed as Yoda 'pushed' the ball her way to include her in the current game/lesson about teamwork. She took the hint and joined in with half of the younglings against Yoda, providing light Force assists as the children tried to maneuver the ball into a bin to score for their team.

From there, it was a matter of keeping up with the ancient master, who seemed more spry than he had in years, Ahsoka realized. Only as dinner was called out and the village came together for a communal meal (as the planet had learned to stretch supplies in the war years and never really stopped), did she get a moment to speak to him of her errand.

"May I speak with you after we eat? I need to work out an issue, before it becomes something critical," Ahsoka asked.

Yoda looked up at her, considered, and then nodded. "Find me for this, you did. Listen, I will."

With that done, she turned her attention to the meal and villagers, greeting the pair of clones that had settled here warmly. Not surprisingly, they had both been in the 212th. A lot of them and the 91st had accepted Ryloth's invitation to settle. She gave tidbits of news from the wider galaxy, listened to how Ryloth's recovery was going, and silently Remembered the men she had lost here.

After the meal, though, she followed Master Yoda to an observation point, enjoying the dusk settling in around her. 

Once both were settled, Ahsoka broached the subject. "I wish to take my daughter as a padawan, Master Yoda, and everyone seems very set against it," she said. "I know they fear the doubled attachment there, but I don't think any of them understand just what it means to us, following the ways of my people and those of Rex's, to raise and educate a child."

"Points, both of them, yes," Yoda said. "Restrict your child to just those ways, though, if take her as your own padawan you do."

"Even with as much as I do travel and help on the many worlds recovering from war?" Ahsoka questioned, as he raised a point none of the rest really had in arguing with her.

"Expose to many viewpoints, travel does. Ultimately, home is among your clan. Always return, you do."

"That's not going to change for her even with another master!" she said quickly, so proud of her daughter and how well she was integrated into the clan. Yoda was pointedly, in his serene fashion, looking at her, as if there were a lesson in those words. And she suddenly realized that was true. She dropped her eyes, her lekku flexing sheepishly.

"See now, I think you do."

"Yes, Master. Just like assigning me to Anakin gave me a chance to experience the culture of the men serving with us, I need to let Mara have that chance. But in the end, she will come home to us, just as I managed to remain true to the Jedi… in my own way."

Yoda chuckled at that. "Own way, it was, saved us all." He quieted then, and looked up at the stars beginning to show through the wisps of clouds. That suited Ahsoka as she accepted that it was time to let her huntress find her new path.

+++

"Why the change of heart, 'Soka?" Rex asked, once they were cooling off from their sparring session. "Anakin join the crowd yelling about it?"

Ahsoka smiled over at him for that. Knighted for over three years, but it was true Anakin was often the Jedi she trusted most for advice. Except, in this, she had known he would be as much like her, and unwilling to turn his child loose. Luke had chosen to go to the Temple, six years ago, which had eased that transition. Anakin could still see his son, and Luke came home for small breaks from Temple training.

"Master Yoda is who I talked to, and he helped me see something important. If I keep Mara here, if I don't give her that chance to go learn with someone new, I'm limiting her. And that is totally not what we want, is it, Rex?"

The soldier snorted. "No. I mean, our culture dictates training the young to follow in our paths, but that's not the Jedi way. And Mara is meant to hold a lightsaber and dance the way you do in a fight."

"We've got plenty of other younglings to mold into strong Vod'e, Rex," she said, bemusedly remembering that the HoloNet was always running stories about the former GAR and their orphanages, as they had deemed the various garrisons that took in young people from all over the galaxy. "We can let Mara fly, if she wants."

Rex nodded, accepting that decision, since it was based on Mara's freedom to choose. Only clan was more important than that to the former GAR soldiers.


End file.
